Electrical outlet-box.



W, E! IRISH.

ELECTRIGAL OUTLET BOX.

APELIOATION FILED MAYZS, 1911.

1,029,611, Patented June 18, 1912.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM F. IRISH, or IDENVILLE, NEW JERSEY.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VILLIAM F. IRISH, a

citizen of the United States, residing at Denville, in the county of Morris and State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electrical Outlet-Boxes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to the construction of electrical outlet-boxes and parts thereof adapted to form a support for a chandelier or lighting fixture and also adapted to form a means for readily effecting the connection of the circuit of a building with that of the lighting fixture or with one or more other building circuits.

Outlet boxes have heretofore been constructed and known as plain-electric and combination boxes, the .former type having a permanent central stud either fixed or angularly adjustable and provided with a screw-thread for attaching the electric lighting fixture, and the latter type being adapted for combination electric and gas lighting fixtures and having a socket or aperture for the passage of the gas pipe in place of the central stud, the fixture being attached to the screw-threaded end of said pipe projecting through the aperture in the outlet-box. It has heretofore been necessary for dealers to carry both types of boxes in stock in order to satisfy the demands of the trade, and this has been the source of considerable inconvenience and expense which it is the main object of my invention to avoid.

By means of my invention I provide a combination outlet box adapted for connection either with a plain-electric fixture when no gas pipe is present, or with a gas pipe when the box is .to be used in connection with a combination gas and electric fixture.

Of the accompanying drawings, Figure l is an axial section of an outlet-box constructed according to my invention, together with a portion of armored cable applied to one of the sockets. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of the box. Fig. 3 is a front elevation. Fig. 4 is a side elevation, partly in section on the line 41*4: of Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a detached view of the removable stud. Fig. 6 is a sectional view of a. wall showing-the manner of applying the outlet-box in connection with a gas pipe.

10 is the body casting of thebox, formed with a series of sockets as hereinafter described'to receive the ends of the armored Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 23, 1911.

crowded in order latter may be further secured ELECTRICAL OUTLET-BOX.

Patented June 18, 1912. Serial No. 628,960.

ed to fit in said aperture, an intermediate shoulder H adapted to rest on an annular seat 15 on the box body surrounding sald aperture, and a screw-threaded outer endportion 16 forming a coupling member to which the complementally-threaded stem or base of an ordinary electric lighting fixture or chandelier may be attached.

17 is a set-screw which penetrates the wall of the aperture 11 at an acute angle to the axis of the stud and has its head exposed at the frontof the outlet-box, for the purpose of securing the stud 12 in place or attaching the box to a gas pipe when the stud is not in use. The inner end of the stud is here shown with two notches 18 into either of which the inner end of the set-screw may be to exert both lateral and longitudinal pressure on the stud and force the latter tightly into the aperture 11 and against the seat 15, these notches being elongated circumferentially to facilitate the engagement of the set-screw with the stud in differentrotative positions of the latter, but separated by shoulders 19 which prevent the stud from turning completely around in case the frictional grip of the screw should be insufficient to hold the stud when the fixture is being screwed on or off.

20, 20 are longitudinal apertures formed in the outlet-box for the reception of woodscrews to attach the box to a building wall.

The outlet-box is set in the usual manner against the lathe or studding of a building wall, with its axis either horizontal, vertical, or inclined, and its outer face preferably fiush with the plastering.

Fig. 6 shows the box used in connection with a gas pipe 21, and in this case the central stud 12 is removed in order to permit the passage of the pipe through the aperture 11, the threaded end of said pipe forming a means for attaching the chandelier or lighting fixture. The screw 17 is set up against the side of the pipe in order to secure the latter to the outlet-box, and the directly to the wall 22 by means of the wood-screws 23, or these screws may be omitted. The stud 12 in such a case is not made use of, but when the box is to be employed in connection with a plain-electric fixture and no gas pipe is present, the stud 12 will be fixed in place as indicated in Fig. 1 in order to provide a means for attaching the fixture. In this case'it is desirable to use the screws 23 as a means for anchoring the box. Ordinarily an outlet box with this improvement would be sold as a complete article, but it is evident that the stud 12 could be supplied separately and used as an adapter for a box provided with a gas-pipe aperture 11 and set-screw 17 or equivalent clamping devlce.

24: indicates a section of armored electric cable having the end-portion of its metallic sheath or armor clamped in one of a series of sockets 25 formed in the outlet-box, and its insulated conductor portion extended through an aperture in the bottom wall 26 of said socket. Knock-out disks such as 27 (Fig. 2) are preferably inserted and left in the sockets which are not in use, but I do not claim this feature.

I prefer to arrange the sockets 25 at an angle, or convergently with respect to the central axis of the box, as this involves less bending of the cable than with other arrangements, and I also prefer to provide in the side of each socket 25 a clamping bolt consisting of a nut 28 adapted to engage the side of the armored conduit, and a screw 29 arranged parallel to the axis of the box and adapted to draw the nut against the armor or sheath of the conduit and crowd the latter against the opposite wall of its socket 25. The screw has its head exposed at the front of the box and is adapted to be tightened or loosened by means of a screwdriver. The nut is mounted in a rectangular recess 30 to prevent it from turning, and the remote wall 31 of this recess may be beveled in a well-known manner in order to wedge the nut over against the cable. I also prefer; to tilt the nut 28 by forming its tapped hole at an angle to the plane of the nut in order that the corner of the nut may obtain. a better hold between the helical courses of the cable armor. This feature, as well as the inclination of the socket 25 to the axis of the clamping bolt, contributes toward the crowding of the end of the cable sheath against the bottom of the socket when the bolt is tightened.

- It will be seen from Figs. 1, l and 6, that the outer ends of the sockets 25 form recesses in the side walls of the out-let-box. Accordingly those sockets which are not inuse furnish plaster-holds for increasing the security of the outlet-box in its place in the wall. It will be obvious however that other means for securing the conductor sheaths or providing for the connection of the circuits may be employed, and the specific embodiment of my invention may be altered without departing from its principle.

I claim,

1. An electrical outlet-box comprising a body formed with a through aperture adapted for the passage of a gaspipe, a stud removably mounted in said aperture and having a projecting front end formed with coupling means for the attachment of a lighting fixture, and a clamping device having screw-threaded engagement with the wall of said aperture and adapted to exert lateral pressure on said stud to hold the same in said aperture and also adapted to attach the outlet-b0x to a gas-pipe when the stud is removed.

2. Means for adapting an outlet box for a combination gas and electric fixture to be employed for a plain-electric fixture, said means comprising a stud formed with an externally screw-threaded portion at one end, an intermediate shoulder, and a plain stemat the opposite end provided with a notch in its side for receiving the end of a set-screw.

3. An electrical outlet-box comprising a body formed with a through aperture and a seat surrounding the same, a stud having a rear portion in said aperture, an intermediate shoulder and a screw-threaded front portion, and a set-screw projecting diagonally through the wall of said aperture to engage the rear portion of the stud and force its shoulder against said seat, said set-screw being also adapted to connect the outlet-box with a gas-pipe when the stud is removed.

4. An electrical outlet-box comprising a body formed with a through aperture, a setscrew projecting through the wall of said aperture, and a stud having a rear portion located in said aperture and formed with a circumferentially elongated notch with shoulders at its ends, for the reception of the end of the set-screw, and a front end-portion provided with coupling means for the attachment of a lighting fixture.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 22d day of May, 1911.

WILLIAM F. IRISH.

Witnesses:

EDWARD E. BLACK, R. M. PIERSON.

Gotten at this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

